Premature Proposal
by Noble6
Summary: Set directly after the events of Book 1. Mako notices two things: one being that several adult women of the Southern Water Tribe have some kind of traditional necklaces, and two being that Korra doesn't seem to have one of her own. He seeks to change that, none too aware of the purpose behind such an act and item.


**I've had this posted on my Tumblr for a while, and I finally decided to share it here!**

**This was written well before Book 2 even aired, and no doubt at a late hour, so excuse the silliness of this little story! ****Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you an early Happy New Year! And, with that...enjoy!**

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_**-Premature Proposal-**_

Mako leaned against the stone wall of his temporary room in the South Pole, face screwed up into a thoughtful trance as he gazed into the licking flames that burned in the fireplace, the smoldering embers reflecting in his bright amber eyes.

Katara had one.

Her daughter and Tenzin's sister, Kya, had one.

Senna, his girlfriend's mother, had one.

Many grown woman seemed to have one – one of those necklaces that he could only assume was of Water Tribe origin.

So, why didn't Korra have one of her own? He didn't think her being the Avatar or once leaving to Republic City had anything to do with the fact. She was born, raised, and had lived in this region for seventeen years. What could possibly reject her from receiving something that was obviously a special trinket in her homeland?

One morning during breakfast, Mako absently picked at his serving of food while openly staring at the hand-crafted jewelry that belonged to his girlfriend's mother. He realized it must have have been odd for him to focus on her neck, for Korra certainly had to poke accusations at him once he was caught in the act, but he had to memorize every detail of the band. He had to, because he decided that he was going to make one himself for the soon-to-be-eighteen year old woman. He would present it as a gift at her party that was to be held at the Winter Solstice festival.

She would love it. She had to!

Night-to-night, he would claim that he was retiring for sleep when in actuality, he would secretly gather crafts needed to build the necklace while putting careful work into it through the late hours.

He recalled the conversation that followed after Korra asked as to why he was staring at her mother:

"It was _creepy,_ Mako."

"I wasn't staring at _her._ I was looking at her necklace!"

"The necklace, really? What's so special about it to you?"

The young Avatar had been skeptical, crossing her arms as she demanded a plausible answer from the stiff firebender.

"I – I've just noticed that they seem to be kind of popular among the ladies here, is all.."

Korra's brow rose. "Oh? Well, they are kind of a traditional gift from men in both the Southern and Northern Water Tribes – have been since even before Master Katara got hers. She was actually very young when she retrieved it..."

From what he gathered, it was only through a boy that a girl seemed to acquire these necklaces. That made perfect sense! Korra claimed that once she had been discovered as the new Avatar after Aang's passing, she had been taken to a compound that she could not leave without strict supervision and there, she was trained by elite bending masters that consisted of the White Lotus. Secluded in a snow bank with only old people? How could Korra have ever had a chance to meet a boy her age? She didn't, of course. He was the first, and he was proud of that. To commemorate their becoming a couple, he knew this had to be the perfect gift for her.

It was now the eve of her birthday, and he had just finished his creation. Holding the necklace up in the moonlight that seeped through his window, he admired his work with a smile. The symbol for the element of water was engraved into the pearl blue pendant, the orb attached to the dark blue band by a golden hook.

It looked just as truly authentic as any. The thought and the effort put into it should only make the piece more valuable and appreciated! He could envision it now: those oceanic blue eyes lighting up, her crying in delight, and then jumping into his embrace with a leap of joy...

…..

"_Aggh!"_

A visibly startled Korra tripped back, falling into the layers of snow. Mako stood baffled, the necklace dangling limply from his fingers. This was not the desired reaction that he was expecting. She looked horrified and the crowd gaped at him in shock and Bolin seemed as if he was about to lose his noodles and _what was going on?_

"W-where did you get that?!" Korra sputtered, cheeks flushing with a deep blush.

"I...I made it, for you!" Mako answered. "Remember? You told me that guys give these to girls for -"

"No, no, no!" Korra quickly cut him off, scrambling to her feet as she marched up to him. "You don't just go _giving_ a _**betrothal necklace**_ to just anybody!"

"I..."

Wait. Did she just say...betrothal?

_What?_

"Y-you mean this thing is meant for marriage?!" Mako choked. His face was tinted red; he was sure of it, feeling the heat of embarrassment radiating off his skin. This perfectly planned gift had almost turned out to be some whacked out premature marriage proposal! Even worse was that this was displayed to the public. Now he wished that he would have gone through with the previous decision to wait until the two were alone, where none could have witnessed this bizarre scene. It certainly would have spared them from humiliation. Him, mostly.

"I...I didn't...you didn't say...I...I'm so sorry...!"

Korra started to break into fits of laughter, finding his awkward behavior to be just simply adorable.

"_Spirits, Mako,"_ she breathed. "Don't scare me like that ever again!"

Amidst all the taunting giggles, Mako shrank beneath all the attention, tugging nervously at the red scarf wrapped over his shoulders.

Maybe he was just meant to be the brooding boyfriend. Glancing down at the necklace in his hand, he groaned, determinedly thinking:

_Most definitely the brooding kind._


End file.
